Trolley-pole-controlling device.



PATENTED JULY 2, 1907.

W. LILE. TROLLEY POLE GflNTRULLIN-G DEVICE.

2SHEETS-SHBET 1.

APPLIUATION FILED JUNE 26,1906.

WITZVESSES:

N0. 8553,1 32. PATENTED JULY 2, 1907 W5 LILE.

TRGLLEY POLE GONTRGLLING DEVICE.

APPLIUATIOE FILED JUNE 28,1906.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2,

ATTORNEK 1N VEN T 0R.

*UN TED TATES 3A WILLIAM LlLE, OF

ENT onrron,

VENICE, ILLINOIS.

TRCLLEY-POLE-UONTBQLLING DEVIGE.

trolley-polecontrolling devices; and it consists in the novel construction of nrechanisnrmore fully set forth in the specification and pointede'ut in the claims. In the drawings, Figure 1 is a middle vertical section on line 1-1 of Fig. 4, showing the operating parts of the device in normal operation; ,Fig. 2 is a similar section showing the parts displaced upon the release of the pole from the trolley-wire; Fig. 3 is a. horizontal section on' line 3-3 of Fig. 1;'Fig. 4 is a horizontal section on line 4-4 of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional detail enlarged, taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3; and

' 6 is a vertical section on line 66 of Fig. 5.

The object of my invention is to'provide suitable mechanism which will permit the trolley-pole to drop away from the trolley-wire when the trolley jumps the Wire, instead of permitting thepole to swing or fly up- Ward under the tension of the'spring which keeps it in contact with the wire under normal conditions.

Introlleysas now, generally constructed, when the wheel leaves the; wire," the tension of the controlling springjorces asubstantially ertical posi- -ti6h; andifthe cal-happens to be in rapid. motion, the pole'will strike against the guy wires which support the trolley wire," the impact irequently resulting in considerable damage tothe wires. With my present improvement the tensiozr'ot the spring which holds the trolley to tlie wire is at'once destroyed or rendered i fiective the, moment the pgle leaves the wire, there b permittingv the pole to drop toward the roof of the ing position e'conductor from-the inside of the car. In detail the in'vention may be described as follows:

' Referring to the drawings, 0, represents a'sectionof the car roof provided with glass panels, or windows W,

on either side of the center of the roof, the latter having -rotajtably rnounted at such center a casing 1 can rying at its lowfeg' end a hand-wheel 2. The casing is I provided with a flgngeB trough-shaped in cross-section, the base. of the'trough being provide ti wvith an insulating ring 4 carrying a conducting plate or ring 5 from which depend a seriesof brushes 6 operating in conjunction with a contact plate 7 supported on an insulating disk 8 which latter rests on the flanged portion of a suitable Specification of Letters Patent. Application-filed J3me sexless. Serial lie. 323,958.

car, when it can subsequently be restored to its work-- Patented an 2,, 1907;

supporting ring or bearing 9 secured to the car-roof. Leading to the plate 7 is a properly insulated sectionoi theconducting wire to, the plate 5 havinga similar Wire 10 leading to the trolley pole P. v The pole is pivoted in a bracket 1. forming an extension of the casing 1, the

base of the pole terminating in a pinion 10 disposed about the axis of oscillation of the'pole, the pinion meshing with the teeth of a vertically reciprocating rack-bar ll loosely operating through the closed'top of I the casing l, and guided by the ribs 1.2 operating in cor-f responding grooves 13 formed in the sides of the bracket 1. Mounted on a lateral projecting arm 14 of the bracket 1'' is a sleeve or tube 15 over which is free to play a ring or collar 16 from which-extend the tension rods 17-,the' opposite ends of said rods connecting to the eye-bolts l8 mounted in the lateral brackets 19 at the base of the" pole. The sleeve 15 isencompassed by an expansion spring 20 confined between the collar-16 and the bracket 1', the tension'oi the spring being regulated by the nuts 21 at the outer ends of the rods 17. The point of connection oi the rods 17 with the pole is above the aids of oscillation of the pole as shown in the drawings.

The lower portion of the rack-bar llterminates-in a ii-shaped bolt or fork 22 whose lower end is secured to a disk 23 confined in the casing 1, the fork 22 passing loosely through. a second disk 24, the latter disk being secured to the end of a similar for-1:25 which in turn passes loosely through the disk (Fig. 3), the forks being disposed in planes at right angles to one another so as to readily telescope with one another. The base, or the fork 25 carries a stem 26 operating loosely through the hand-wheel 2, the projecting end of the stem being pivot-ally coupled to an intermediate point of a vertically oscillating settinglever 27 pivoted at one end to a link 28 depending from the hand-Wheel. Between. the disks 23, 24-; is interposed an expansion spring 29 for which under normal conditions of operation, the

disk 24 serves as a stationary abutment, the disk 23 be ing the movable abutment and responding to the torn sion of the spring. It will be readily seen that if the disk 24 be anchored, or held stationary, the tensionof the spring will drive the disk or movable abutnient iZB before it, thereby drawing down on the fork 22 andracb bar ll and forcing the pole (by rotating the pinion 10) against the trolleyfwire T. This conditfin accords wit?" he normal operation of the parts'gand'tlie tension of th spring 29 is rendered ineffective only by the renioval of the support for the stationary abutment 23, for 1 then, the spring having no stationary support against which'to brace itself ceases to drive'the movable abutment 23 before it, and the parts being thus released from the action of the spring, the pole drops to the roof of thecar (see dotted position'of the parts in Fig. 2) and to prevent a too sudden drop when thus released, the

pole is allowed to fall slowly under the restraining injumping the trolley wire.

Should the pole jump the wire, the stationarydbuu ment 24 would be instantly released from its anchored position and the pole would drop as described. I will now describe the mechanism for anchoring the abutment 24, and the manner in which the abutment is released in the event the pole jumps the wire: livoted to the setting lever 27 at a point beyond its connection with the stem 26 is a serrated or ratchet arm 30 adapted to engage a corresponding serrated bearing plate 31carried by the handwvheel 2, the arm being capable of retraction from said bearing by the spring 32. Mount ed on the hand-wheel 2 and rotatable in a vertical plane is a. trigger 33 to whose axis of rotation is secured a cam 34 which, when the trigger is rocked to the position shown in Fig. 1, forces the serrated arm 30 into cngagcn1cnt withits bearing plate 31, thereby not only looking the lever 27 against movement, but securely anchoring the disk 24 coupled to the lever through the connections 26, 25. The upper end of the trigger moreover carries a pivoted latch 35 whose terminal hook 136 (Fig. 6) through the medium of the spring 37 is forced into engagement with the upper end of a sliding bolt or keeper 38 mounted in a casing 39, the wall of the latter being provided with a peripheral slot 40 through which operates the laterally projecting arm 41 of the keeper.

The arm 41 terminates in a fork 42 loosely embracing a vertically reciprocating rod 43 between the lugs 44,

44 carried by said rod, the latter operating loosely through the hand-wl1eel 2 and through an eye'bolt 4L5 the latter (the operator seizing the lobe 48) in proper direction, the position of the tappet 48 along the rod can be accurately adjusted. l

The parts in Fig. 1 are shown in locked position and the pole is 'on the wire. Should the pole jump the wire, the'tension of the spring 29 will iinmediatelyforce the abutment 23 downward (it being remembered that the abutment 24 is anchored) until it impinges against and depresses the tappjiit 48. This will depress the tappetrod 43 and its lugs 44, 44 between which the forked end of the arm' 41 of the keeper 38 isconfined, thereby dcpressing the keeper and withdrawingit from the latch 35. This sudden withdrawal of the keeper fromtb'e latch permits the tension of the spring 32 to assert itself, drawing the serrated arm 30 against the cam 34, the prefmure against the latter being at a suitable point above the axis of rotation of the cam, and this action coupled with the further fact that the lower arm of the trigger 33 is consid erably Weighted orheavier than the. upper arm, serves to trip the trigger and cam away from the arm 30, allowing the spring 32 to retract the ,arln from. its bearing plate 31 Fig. 2) when the anchorage for the abutment 24 is destroyed, and the driving spring 29 having no stationary abutment or support against which to brace itself, the device. collapses as it were, the tension of the spring becomes ineffective and the pole drops as already described (Fig. 2). The conductor then by seizing the hand-wheel 2-can turn the casing so as to bring the end of the pole directly under the wire T, (a clear vision being afforded him through the window W) then by pulling down on the lever 27 he can reset the parts by forcing the locking arm 30 against its plate 3 1', rocking the trigger 33 to cause the latch 35 thereof to'reengage itskeeper 38;

Of courselnndertordinary conditions the pole may 05-. cillate more or less vertically (for variable elevations,

swung 360 (or 180 degrees in either direction) so that the car may be propelled forward or backward.

Having described my invention, what I claim is: Y

1. In combination with an oscillating trolley-pole, a pinion fixed about the axis 01 oscillation of the pole, a reciprocatlug rack-bur meshing with said pinion, a depending forked extension for the rock-bar, a disk secured to the "free end or said extension, :1 second disk playing looselyalong the forked extension of the rack-bar, a spring inter- 10Q posed between the disks and tending to force them apart, a stem havin -a forked terminal secured to the second disk andplnylng loosely through the disk coupled to the rack-' bar, means for coupling said stem to a fixed support and thereby anchoring the second disk against movement, the spring serving to actuate the first disk. and rack-bar coupled thereto and oscillate-the pole against the trolleywlre and means forreleaslng the stem and the disk coupled thereto upon the release of the pole from the wire whereby the effective abutment for the spring is destroyed and the iole allowed to drop, substantially as set forth.

2. In combination wltli an oscillating tro1ley-pole, a pinion fined about the axis of. oscillation of the'pole, a, reciprocating rack-bar meshing with said pinion, a disk coupled to the rack-bar, a second disk movable to and from the first disk, 9. sprlng interposed betweenfthe disks, a stem connected to the second disk, a setting lever coupled .to the stem, means fo'r locking said lever, and devices interposed between the disk coupled to the rack-bar and said locking means for disengaging said locking means upon an abnormal movement ofthe ruclebnr resulting from the renectcd to the second disk, :1 setting lever pivoted at one end and coupled to the stem, a sprlng-controlled ratchet arm pivoted to Ibo lover, a stationary serrated bearing for said ratchet-arm, a rotatable trigger mounted in proximity- 1 0 the cam from the ratchet-arm and the latter withdrawn from engagement wlth its bearing, and the setting lever and disk coupled thereto released and the influence 01 the p0le-actuuting spring destroyed, the parts operatlng Bilbstantially as, and for the pnrposepet forth.

In testimony whereot I aifix my signature, in presence at 15 two witnesses.

. WILLIAM LILE. Witnesses:

EMIL S'rmnK, Jos. A. MICHEL. 

